Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, Named IDSA President
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is pleased to announce Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA as the Society’s new president beginning Oct. 16. In addition, six new Board members will serve with Dr. Schmitt alongside a team of dedicated, experienced leaders. The Board of Directors will work to advance the Society’s overall strategic priorities, including championing fair compensation policies to attract the next generation of infectious diseases experts into the workforce, advocating for policy and regulatory solutions to address the antimicrobial resistance crisis and improving the nation’s preparedness.
“Experts in infectious diseases play critical roles in patient care, education, research and public health,” Dr. Schmitt said. “It is an exciting, fulfilling career with so much scientific opportunity that makes a difference in people’s lives. My colleagues on the Board and I are committed to building the future workforce and attracting the next generation of leaders to the field of infectious diseases.”
Dr. Schmitt has long been a champion for fair payment policies for ID physicians, advocating on behalf of the Society with policymakers and representing IDSA on several key advisory committees of the American Medical Association that define reimbursement value. Dr. Schmitt has a long history of contributions to IDSA, serving on numerous IDSA committees, including the Clinical Affairs Committee, the Physician Compensation Task Force and the Leadership Institute Task Force. As chair of IDSA’s Value of ID Specialists Task Force, Dr. Schmitt led development of two seminal publications in Clinical Infectious Diseases that formed the backbone of efforts to demonstrate the value of ID physicians to their health systems. For his contributions to IDSA, Dr. Schmitt was honored with the Society Citation Award in 2019. He previously served on the Board from 2013 to 2016.
Dr. Schmitt is vice chair of the Department of Infectious Disease at the Cleveland Clinic and head of the department’s Section of Bone and Joint Infections. He also serves as an associate professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
New IDSA Board Members
Dr. Schmitt is pleased to be working with a team of new IDSA Board members, including:
• Maximo O. Brito, MD, MPH, FIDSA, will serve as treasurer of the Society and on the Executive Committee. He is professor of medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and chief of infectious diseases at the Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He served as the program director for the ID fellowship at the University of Illinois for more than 10 years and is committed to fostering a new generation of diverse health care providers and leaders. Dr. Brito specializes in the care of individuals living with or vulnerable to acquiring HIV, with a special interest in HIV prevention, including rapid antiretroviral start, and improving retention in care for people experiencing incarceration. Dr. Brito has served on the IDSA Board since 2021.
• Robin Dretler, MD, FIDSA, was one of the few infectious diseases specialists in the Atlanta area during the early days of the AIDS epidemic when he established Infectious Disease Specialists of Atlanta, now a five-physician clinical practice. A tireless advocate for improving medical care, Dr. Dretler served as president of the Infectious Disease Society of Georgia, president of the DeKalb Medical Society, chief of medicine and chief of staff at DeKalb Medical (now Emory Decatur Hospital), as well as numerous other leadership roles at the hospital. Dr. Dretler has also served as principal investigator on more than 115 clinical studies, conducting research that has led to new treatments for HIV, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases. Through this research, he has given countless patients, including those without insurance, access to state-of-the-art therapy. In 2022, IDSA honored Dr. Dretler with the Watanakunakorn Clinician Award.
• Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD, MPH, FIDSA, is director of health for the City of St. Louis in Missouri, the city’s first Black female physician to hold this position. She led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the Omicron surge and the rollout of pediatric vaccines within days of joining the department, with a focus on both fronts on community engagement to improve health equity. She has continued to steer the department through a community-led approach through the ending of the federal Public Health Emergency by continuing biweekly community COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis’ research background is in HIV, and she is nationally known for advancing public health, community engagement and improving health equity. She was an infectious diseases physician at the John Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she was the lead HIV clinician and co-led a global partnership in St. Louis to end the HIV epidemic. She served on IDSA’s Medical Education Community of Practice, the Grants for Emerging Researchers and Clinicians Mentorship Committees, and is a member of IDSA’s George Counts Minority Interest Group. For her contributions to IDSA, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis was honored with the Society Citation Award in 2022.
• Kami Kim, MD, FIDSA, is division director at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Kim is a physician-scientist with a focus on human parasitic diseases including toxoplasmosis and malaria. Her laboratory frequently works with international and multidisciplinary research teams. Her research now includes the study of machine learning approaches to improve clinical decision making. Throughout her career, Dr. Kim has been a mentor to the next generation of scientists — mentoring junior faculty, clinical and research fellows, residents, medical students and others. She has been actively involved in efforts to create opportunities for trainees from underrepresented communities.
• Ronald Nahass, MD, MHCM, FIDSA, will serve as vice president of the Society and on the Executive Committee. Dr. Nahass is clinical professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the president and one of the founders of ID Care, the largest independent infectious diseases practice on the East Coast. Dr. Nahass pioneered treatments for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other complex infectious diseases. He is a committed teacher and mentor who serves as the preceptor for the residents’ medical clinic, a research mentor for medical students and received the Volunteer Faculty Award from RWJMS multiple times. Dr. Nahass has served IDSA in different capacities throughout the years, including as chair of the Quality Committee and a member of the Clinical Affairs Committee, the Value and Governance Task Force and the IDSA/American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Hepatitis C Guidelines Committee. In 2020, Dr. Nahass was honored with IDSA’s Watanakunakorn Clinician Award for outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases.
• Heather Yun, MD, FIDSA, is deputy commander for medical services at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. As an active-duty colonel, Dr. Yun oversees graduate and allied medical education; readiness and military requirements for 1,700 Army, Air Force, civilian and contract employees; and the delivery of medical services to more than 250,000 beneficiary patients in the greater San Antonio area. She is also the command liaison for Brooke Army Medical Center’s first diversity, equity and inclusion committee, where she leads efforts to create an inclusive and equitable environment for patients and staff. Dr. Yun has served IDSA in numerous roles over the past 10 years, beginning with the first ID Fellowship Milestones Development Project and later helping shape what is now the Medical Education Community of Practice. She is the IDSA chair for IDWeek 2023.
In addition to Drs. Schmitt, Brito and Nahass, the IDSA Executive Committee includes President-Elect Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois; Immediate Past-President Carlos del Rio, MD, FIDSA, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; and Secretary Robin Trotman, DO, FIDSA, Cox Health, Springfield, Missouri.
Members continuing their service on the board include:
• Lilian M. Abbo, MD, MBA, FIDSA, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
• Adaora A. Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Erin Bonura, MD, FIDSA, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
• Rajesh T. Gandhi, MD, FIDSA, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
• Bonnie Word, MD, FIDSA, Houston Travel Medicine Clinic, Houston, Texas
About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a community of more than 12,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Its purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health and prevention relating to infectious diseases. Learn more at www.idsociety.org.